According to an agency email obtained by CNN, the man who fired more than 500 rounds at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention two days before the August 8 shooting, apparently attempted to reach the agency’s campus two days before the August 8 shooting.
During the investigation, the CDC’s Department of Safety, Security and Asset Management and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation discovered video footage showing a man resembling Patrick Joseph White, a shooter, about to enter the CDC’s main campus on Wednesday afternoon, August 6th.
He tried to enter the First Guard Station campus, but was left “without any issues” due to CDC security. The shooter refused to enter campus on Friday, August 8th prior to the attack, the email said.
“The video evidence does not 100% confirm a person’s identity,” the email reads, but authorities believe it is very likely that it is white.
According to an email sent to employees by CDC security officer Jeff Williams, it’s not uncommon for a shooter to “probe” or scout the scene before an attack.
“This is, of course, a disastrous development and we want to highlight the effectiveness of CDC security measures,” the email said.
The agency email was first reported by STAT and Atlanta’s 11Alive News.
Before the shooting, White, 30, broke into his father’s safe and took five guns. He killed David Rose of the DeKalb County Police Department and sprayed bullets on several agency buildings as he was preparing to leave campus over the weekend. Instead, the employee explained that the bullet was hiding under the desk as it whized over his head.
One staff member said at every Hands meeting that he later felt “sitting on the duck.”
In the aftermath of the attack, CDC staff said they were not surprised they were targeted for violent attacks after being smeared as corrupt by federal officials. On Wednesday, more than 750 HHS employees wrote to HHS Director Robert F. Kennedy Jr. pleading to stop the spread of misinformation about vaccines and slanderous slanderers.
The letter, also addressed to members of Congress, said, “The violent attacks on August 8th on CDC headquarters in Atlanta were not random.” The Georgia Bureau of Investigation reported that the shooter expressed his dissatisfaction with the Covid-19 vaccine and wanted to let him know his distrust.
A HHS spokesperson said that Kennedy “provided a statement from the department in response to a letter that he was standing firm with CDC employees on the ground and across all the centres, ensuring their safety and well-being remained top priority.
“For the first time in its 70-year history, HHS’ mission truly resonates with the American people — driven by Presidents Trump and Kennedy’s bold commitment to bring America back to health.
With an additional blow, around 600 CDC staff members who took administrative leave earlier this year have begun receiving official layoff notices this week. On Thursday, the CDC union said there was no advanced notice of termination and there was no complete list of programs affected. Some of the fired staff worked in the CDC’s Violence Prevention Division.
“The cruel decision to advance these illegal separations shortly after the violent attacks on campus contradicts their stated commitment to promoting the recovery of CDC staff and undermines the stability of our institution. The decision to exacerbate this trauma was a shameful, positive choice.
HHS did not immediately respond to requests for comment on AFGE’s statement.
